Russian Kitchen: The humble pineapple

There are a lot of salads that have canned pineapples and people make poultry dishes with the tropical fruit.

Ananas, as pineapple is called in Russian and
several Indian languages, is an exotic fruit for Russia and is put in every
version of Russian salad in India. The original name of the fruit comes
from the Tupi word nanas,
meaning excellent fruit and comosus,
meaning tufted, in a reference to the stem of the fruit. The modern
English name pineapple was given to the fruit in the 17th century because of
its resemblance to a pine cone.

It is believed that in the 18th
century Russian botanists invented a special type of pineapple that could grow
in cold conditions and had a very unique round shape. In the beginning of the 20th century, only
very rich people could afford to eat pineapples. It was reflected in Russian revolutionary
literature by statements and this is what Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky had
to say:

“Eat
pineapples, chew grouse,

This
is your last day, bourgeois”

Related:

In 2013, this fruit is available in Russia throughout
the year, thanks to imports from Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire and Ecuador. It is
still costly for the common man. One pineapple would cost you 100 roubles
(about 180 rupees) in Russia. In Bangalore
we can buy 8-9 pineapples for the same price.

If fresh pineapple is a bit costly, the canned
one is widely available and everybody can afford it. Russian love for exotic
fruits has influenced new ideas in food recipes. There are a lot of salads that
have canned pineapples and some people make poultry dishes with them. In India
with a wide availability of the fruit, surprisingly, it is not used in cooking except
for the standard Hawaiian pizza, which has pineapple pieces on it.

Cooking
with pineapple

Salad

Cut peeled pineapple into cubes, mix with
boiled prawns, add olive oil and season to taste. Serve on the bed of any type
of lettuce.

Sauce

Cut pineapple into really small pieces and
add green chilly to your taste. You can make the sauce smoother by using the
blender. Season it with salt. It is an excellent addition to grilled fish or
chicken.

Grilled
Pineapple

Peel pineapple, cut into round shape, grill
on barbeque or non-stick frying pan. It can be served with dahi sprinkled with
jeera powder on it.